French Justice convicted Marine Le Pen, but she will be able to run in 2027

The Paris Court of Appeal sentenced the leader of National Rally, Marine Le Pen, on Tuesday to a disqualification penalty that, in practice, would not prevent her participation in the French presidential elections of 2027. However, the leader also received a sentence of house arrest with an electronic bracelet, a measure she considers incompatible with running an electoral campaign.

The ruling establishes a total disqualification of 45 months, although 30 months were suspended and the remaining 15 months began to be counted from the first-instance ruling issued in March of last year, so that period is already considered fulfilled. Thus, Le Pen keeps the legal possibility of running as a presidential candidate open.

House arrest and criticism of the ruling

In addition to the disqualification, the leader was sentenced to three years in prison, of which she must serve one year under house arrest with an electronic bracelet, while the other two years were suspended. She will also face a fine of 100,000 euros.

Le Pen had warned days earlier that such a measure would seriously hinder a potential presidential campaign.

"When one is a presidential candidate, one needs to have complete freedom of movement. I cannot depend on a magistrate authorizing me to attend an event," she stated recently in a television interview.

The specific conditions of the house arrest will be defined by the judge in charge of executing the sentence and could be decisive for the leader's political future.

The accusation for the use of European funds

The court found Le Pen guilty, along with eleven other leaders and the National Rally party, for the irregular use of more than 2.8 million euros from the European Parliament.

According to the ruling, those resources intended for the payment of parliamentary assistants would have been used to finance employees who performed party tasks.

The president of the court stated during the reading of the ruling that political leaders must maintain exemplary conduct in the management of public funds.

A decision that generates a strong political impact

The conviction once again places Marine Le Pen at the center of the French political stage, at a time when she continues to be one of the main figures of the opposition and one of the leaders with the greatest electoral prospects for the upcoming presidential elections.

Her circle believes that the judicial decision has a strong political impact and warns that the restrictions arising from house arrest could affect her ability to travel the country and run a campaign on equal terms with other candidates.

In the coming hours, Le Pen is expected to publicly comment on the ruling and decide whether she will personally compete for the presidency or support the candidacy of Jordan Bardella, the current president of National Rally and one of the party's main emerging figures.